Where Have All the Heroes Gone?

The Changing Nature of American Valor

Bruce Peabody and Krista Jenkins

Unique in its systematic exploration of heroism and its application to civic life

Features an emphasis on a distinctive gap between elite and public attitudes about heroism

Uses many approaches including content analysis, original and existing survey research, and focus group interviews drawn from sources ranging from the New York Times to the Congressional Record to public opinion polls

Offers a new theoretical model for organizing and understanding views about heroism, and how these are likely to be distributed in the elite and popular groups we investigate

Where Have All the Heroes Gone?

The Changing Nature of American Valor

Bruce Peabody and Krista Jenkins

Description

From the men and women associated with the American Revolution and Civil War to the seminal figures in the struggles for civil and women's rights, Americans have been fascinated with icons of great achievement, or at least reputation. But who spins today's narratives about American heroism, and to what end?

In Where Have All the Heroes Gone?, Bruce Peabody and Krista Jenkins draw on the concept of the American hero to show an important gap between the views of political and media elites and the attitudes of the mass public. The authors contend that important changes over the past half century, including the increasing scope of new media and people's deepening political distrust, have drawn both politicians and producers of media content to the hero meme. However, popular reaction to this turn to heroism has been largely skeptical. As a result, the conversations and judgments of ordinary Americans, government officials, and media elites are often deeply divergent. Investigating the story of American heroes over the past five decades provides a narrative that can teach us about such issues as political socialization, institutional trust, and political communication.

Where Have All the Heroes Gone?

The Changing Nature of American Valor

Bruce Peabody and Krista Jenkins

Author Information

Bruce Peabody is Professor of Political Science at Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Krista Jenkins is Professor of Political Science and Director of PublicMind at Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Where Have All the Heroes Gone?

The Changing Nature of American Valor

Bruce Peabody and Krista Jenkins

Reviews and Awards

"Can we live without heroes? The authors wrestle with that question forcefully, objectively, and in doing so guide us well." - Roderick P. Hart, University of Texas at Austin

"Where Have All the Heroes Gone? is a model of social science inquiry. The book provides a winning mixed-methods approach, using both the voices of our elites and ordinary Americans. Peabody and Jenkins have produced a must-read." - Marc Hetherington, Vanderbilt University

"The book is provocative, well-written, challenging and convincing in its major thesis, and very skilled in its analysis." - Gerald Pomper, Rutgers University

"This book's merit is not only in its superb scholarship; it is also moving and inspiring. Written in clear and easy prose, Where Have All the Heroes Gone, with its emphasis on the divergence of elite and common conceptions, is a turning point in our understanding of an ancient and universal theme." - Barry Schwartz, University of Georgia